Revelations
by michellemtsu
Summary: 1x21 from Damon's POV. Follows canon. Spoilers for the episode!


**Author's note/Disclaimer:** This story was born out of a desire to get inside Damon's head during the events of 1x21 "Isobel." As such there will be large chunks of recognizable dialogue. **I do not own any of it.** The recognizable parts were written by the awesome and talented Caroline Dries and Brian Young. I'm just borrowing it, so I could fill in the blanks. Let me know how I did!

The house felt empty. Damon couldn't put his finger on _why_ exactly. Stefan was upstairs, showering. He was getting ready for his first day back at school since the attack on that Amber girl at the Founder's Pageant. And his first since he was foolish enough to attempt to meet the sun, thereby ending his torment. Damon rolled his eyes, as he took a sip from his glass of blood. Stefan had always had that melodramatic streak. What made it worse was the pure selfishness of it. How could Stefan end his life and leave Elena alone? Didn't he know what something like that would do to her? Was his brother a complete fool?

And suddenly Damon knew why the house felt empty. Elena wasn't there. He'd gotten used to her presence in the time Stefan had been locked up. When he came downstairs in the morning, she would be sitting at the table, or in front of the fireplace, reading or doing her homework. Damon would greet her with a quip or a joke and she'd roll her eyes at him. It was just how they were together. And damn it, even though he'd never admit it, he missed it. It had been a very long time since he hadn't needed to compel someone into enjoying spending time with him. Damon had a feeling that with Stefan back in full broody form he was going to have to get used to being alone. Again.

Stefan's phone was ringing upstairs. Damon knew all the rings on Stefan's phone and recognized Elena's. Damon slammed his glass of blood on the counter and tore upstairs to Stefan's room, intent on answering it before Stefan could get out of the shower. He picked it up on the fourth ring.

"I'm supposed to help build the Miss Mystic float for the Founder's Day parade," Elena began without preamble. "If I don't, I get the wrath of Caroline. But I wanted to check in first."

"Well, I'm going great. Thanks for asking."

Elena didn't miss a beat. "Check in on Stefan."

Damon smiled inwardly. That was one of the things he liked about Elena, her ability to roll with the punches. "Oh. Him. He's terrible."

"What's the matter?" Elena asked, concerned.

Damon couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her. "He's back to boring. Strait laced. Off the junk. You've successfully cured him of anything remotely interesting about his personality."

"Don't forget who helped me," Elena reminded him.

Damon smiled ruefully, "I hate myself." _Time to change the subject_. "Hey, did Uncle John mention anything to you about my little field trip with the history teacher?"

"No, I've been avoiding him. Why? What's he up to?"

Damon heard Stefan getting out of the bathroom. "I don't know. But I'd love it if you could find out for me."

"I gotta go. I'm late."

"Have fun with the Mystic Queen," Damon said. "I know I did." Damon could just barely hear Elena's "Pfft" has she hung up.

Damon knew Stefan was standing right behind him. He got up and was not in the least surprised by Stefan's "WTF?" face. Damon handed his brother the phone and said simply, "Elena called." Then he walked out leaving Stefan rather nonplussed.

Damon's good mood didn't last. About an hour after Stefan left for school, Damon's phone rang. He was surprised to see the history teacher's name on his caller ID.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Alaric?" Damon asked in lieu of hello.

"Can you be here in an hour? We need to talk."

"Of course, Ric," Damon said sarcastically. "I'm just _dying_ to know how Stefan's doing in your sure to be interesting history classes. It's not like he was _there_ or anything."

"Damon, this is serious."

Damon sighed. "Fine. I'll be at that pathetic excuse for a school in an hour."

Damon was almost as good as his word. He'd gotten waylaid by Sherriff Forbes in the lobby of Mystic High. She wanted to update him on the search for Amber Fell's attacker. When Liz told him that the girl still didn't remember anything, he tried not to gloat. He'd been the one to compel her to forget, after all. But the Sheriff's doom and gloom report had made him late for Alaric's cryptic meeting. Disengaging from Sheriff Forbes, Damon hurried down the hall to Alaric's classroom. When he opened the door, he was greeted with the despondent faces of Elena, Alaric and Stefan.

"Damon," Alaric said. "Thanks for coming."

"Sorry, I'm late." Deciding to go for some humor, he continued, "The dog ate my…" He looked around, no one was smiling. "Never mind. What's with all the furrowed brows?"

"I saw Isobel last night," Alaric said.

Damon's own brow furrowed. "Isobel's _here_?" Alaric nodded. "In town?" Damon strode past Stefan and leaned against the counter. He couldn't look at Elena. "Did you ask about Uncle John? Are they working together?"

"No," Alaric said.

"No, they're not?"

"No, I didn't ask."

Now Damon was getting annoyed. He stood. "What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

Damon moved past Stefan and stood in front of Alaric. "Does she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I don't know."

Damon's temper flared. Getting right in Alaric's face he said, "Did words completely escape you?"

"I was too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions," Alaric snapped.

Damon backed off. "What's she want?"

For the first time Elena spoke. "She wants to see me, Damon."

Damon looked at her. She looked very much like a lost little girl in that moment. Once again, Damon inwardly cursed his connection to Isobel.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants," Stefan informed him.

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to, Damon said immediately. He didn't know what made him say it. He just couldn't bear seeing Elena like that.

"I don't really have a choice," Elena said, dejectedly.

Before Damon could ask, Alaric said, "She threatened to go on a killing spree."

"Oh. I take it that's not okay with you guys?"

"I wanna do it," Elena said, her voice gaining strength. "I wanna meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it."

Damon wasn't entirely certain that was a good idea, but he knew better than to argue. Elena was stronger than most people, including his brother, gave her credit for. If she wanted to meet Isobel, then she would. But she wouldn't be doing it alone, Damon was certain of that.

That afternoon, Damon was pacing outside the Mystic Grille. He felt like a caged animal. Elena was inside waiting for Isobel. Damon could just make out the sound of her erratic heartbeat over the extraneous sounds of the restaurant. Stefan was with her, but Damon was taking no chances. If Isobel so much as looked at Elena funny, he wanted to know about it.

"We should be _in_ there," Damon said, irritated.

Alaric sighed. "No. Isobel made it clear we're not to set foot inside."

"I'm not gonna kill her in a crowded restaurant," Damon protested.

"You're not gonna kill her, period," Alaric said in a steely tone.

"She ruined your life and you still want to protect her?" Damon scoffed. If that was true then Alaric was even more messed up than Damon thought.

"She's my wife." Damon raised his eyebrows. "_Was._ Was my wife. I looked for the woman I married but she wasn't there. Whoever that is…is cold and detached."

"Yeah," Damon said. "She's given up her humanity."

"Yeah, see I don't get that," Alaric replied. "Stefan has his humanity. He's a good guy. Hell, you're a dick and you kill people, but I still see something human in you. But with her there's…there's _nothing_."

_Oh, hell,_ Damon thought. "You can turn it off. Like a button you can press." Alaric still looked confused and Damon honestly didn't know why he was explaining this anyway, but he gave it a shot. "I mean, Stefan's different. He wants the whole human experience. He wants to feel every episode of _How I Met Your Mother_. So he shuts his feelings out. The problem when you're a vampire? Your instinct is not to feel." Damon sighed and joined Alaric next to the car. "Isobel chose the easier road. No guilt. No shame. No regret. I mean, if you could turn it off, wouldn't you?"

"You haven't."

"Course I have, Ric. It's why I'm so fun to be around." Damon was lying, of course. But it'd be a cold day in hell before he told anyone that. It was easier if everyone thought he was the heartless bastard they all thought he was.

Damon resumed his pacing. He concentrated on the sound of Elena's heartbeat. That would be the telltale sign if something was amiss. Controlling your voice was a lot easier than controlling your heartbeat. He could always tell how frightened someone was by their heartbeat. Elena's was still erratic, but not alarmingly so. Then he heard it jump into high gear. He growled low in his throat, but Alaric was there.

"Damon, you can't. Stefan's in there. I'm sure Elena's fine. Isobel won't hurt her. Not until she gets what she wants."

Damon unwillingly backed down. He knew Alaric was right. But he vowed that Isobel wouldn't get near Elena again. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Once Isobel was gone, Damon left. He headed for the Sheriff's office. Damon waved at the deputy behind the desk as he walked toward Liz's office. He'd been there enough times that all the deputies knew him on sight and knew to let him pass without challenge. Damon smirked at the irony. He knocked on Liz's closed door.

"It's open," Mystic Falls' sheriff said through the wooden door.

Damon opened the door and stepped inside. Sheriff Forbes looked surprised to see him. "Damon, what are you doing here?"

Damon tried to look contrite. "Well, first I'd like to apologize for cutting our meeting short this morning. I had a meeting with one of Stefan's teachers and only a very small window that he could fit me into, what with the Founders' Day stuff going on and all." Damon smiled in what he hoped was a winning manner.

Liz smiled ruefully. "It's alright, Damon, I understand." She sighed. "I hate this Founders' Day stuff. Always have, to be honest. But it's important to Caroline, so I forbear. What was the second thing you wanted?"

"Did I say there was a second thing?"

"Well, you said 'first', which leads one to believe that there is a 'second.' What's up? Did you hear anything about the attack? Or the hospital break-ins?"

Damon hesitated. "Nothing definitive so far. Listen, I hate to ask, but may I borrow one of the computers around here? The internet out at the boarding house is acting up again. One of the draw backs to living on the outskirts of town, I suppose. There's a lead I want to check on."

"Of course, Damon. Anything I should know about?"

"Not yet. It's probably a wild goose chase honestly. I'm just trying to be thorough," Damon said grimly.

"Well, I'm heading out, so feel free to use mine. Just turn it off when you're finished."

"No problem. Thanks, Liz."

Damon only needed about fifteen minutes to find what he was looking for. _Gotcha._

An hour later Damon was sitting at the house Isobel was squatting in, half dressed, and playing strip poker with one of Isobel's minions. The girl had obviously been compelled within an inch of her sanity. Isobel had learned well, which made sense when you considered her teacher. Damon wasn't concerned about it; Isobel had always reveled in the joys of being a vampire. Having dollies to play with was one of her favorites.

"Oh ho, Cheri," Damon cooed to the nearly naked girl across from him. "You won again. Hope I'm wearing my good underwear." Damon started unzipping his pants, when he heard Isobel come through the front door.

"It's just one blast from the past after another," Isobel said, as Damon zipped up. She waved approvingly. "No, no, no…" When it was clear that Damon wasn't playing any more, Isobel ordered Cheri out in French.

Damon reached for his shirt and put it on, leaving the buttons open. "It's good to see you Isobel. I'm just having fun with your naughty little minion."

Isobel leaned against the far wall. "How'd you find me?"

In a flash, Damon was standing in Isobel's personal space. "Searched all the neighborhood bank-owned foreclosures and found the most expensive one."

"Oh, I should have known. You were the one who taught me that." She looked him up and down. "What are you really doing here?"

"Well, you caused quite a stir when you blew into town. Saw everyone except the man who made you. I'm a little hurt."

"I'm so sorry," Isobel whispered as she went to hug him. Instead, she viciously yanked his head back and asked, "Did you bring the device?"

Damon spun out of her hold. "Ow." _Quit toying with her and get some answers._ "What are you doing with John Gilbert?"

"We dated a few times when we were young. He was a little bit in love with me."

Something clicked in Damon's head. Isobel dated John. She wound up on John's brother's doorstep seventeen years ago. Damon had a feeling that wasn't a coincidence and filed that bit of information away for later. "I'm sure," he said. "One of the many. Now this little invention. What do you want with it?"

"Oh, me personally? I don't want anything with it. I'm just doing what I'm told." Damon got in her face and viciously tipped her face up. "You know, Damon, we're on the same side," Isobel ground out.

"Oh yeah? And what side is that?"

"Katherine's."

Damon released Isobel in surprise. He had not expected Katherine's name to come up. What game was she playing? Did Isobel really think that invoking Katherine's name would help? That conniving bitch didn't have any power over him. Not anymore. It was a rather freeing realization actually.

"She wants John Gilbert to have the device," Isobel said calmly as she ran her fingers through Damon's hair. "And I think you know that she isn't happy if she doesn't get what she wants."

Isobel moved away from him. "Why are you doing her dirty work?" Damon asked, genuinely curious.

"Don't kill the messenger. We both know that you can't control Katherine. She does what she wants."

"So do I," Damon replied.

"Oh, really, Damon? You do?" Isobel charged at him, but Damon grabbed wrist holding her in place in from of him. They were nose to nose, breath in each other's faces. "What should we do now?" Isobel whispered, rubbing herself into the hard lines of his body. "Oh yeah, memory serves…"

They kissed and Isobel threw Damon into the chair, quickly straddling his lap. He let her continue to kiss him until he was sure she was thoroughly distracted. Then, in flash, he grabbed her by the throat and flung her down onto the hard floor. Damon bent low over Isobel as she struggled against his hold. But he was much, much older than her. She wasn't getting away. He used the opportunity to make his position crystal clear.

"Now that I have your attention, _listen up_. You don't come into _my_ town, threaten people I care about. Going after Elena? _Bad move._ You leave her alone or I will rip you to bits. Cause I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why? _Because it sends a message._" Damon pounded Isobel's head against the floor to emphasize his point. "Katherine wants something from me? You tell that little_ bitch_ to come get it herself."

That should have been the end of it, or so Damon had thought. He was sure that the threat of dismemberment was enough to send Isobel running for the hills, tail planted firmly between her legs. But he had underestimated her. And he had forgotten rule number one: No feelings for the mortals. Feelings complicated things and made you vulnerable to attack.

Damon realized his mistake when Elena came to the boarding house the following afternoon. Stefan and the witch were with her, but Damon barely acknowledged their presence. The fear and worry in Elena's eyes were all he could see. He wanted to go to her, take away her pain, do _something_. But he couldn't. Not now. The gulf between what he wanted and façade he had to maintain was never greater than in that moment. He'd grown so used to taking what he wanted over the past century and a half. This urge to protect, to _care_, was something he hadn't felt since he was human. Damon had to remind himself yet again that Elena wasn't his to protect. She belonged to his brother. Consequently, his face remained impassive as Elena explained that Isobel had taken Jeremy and was going to kill him unless she gave Isobel the invention.

"Absolutely not."

"Just hear me out," Elena pleaded.

"I'm not going to give the device to Isobel, so she can give it to John, who's gonna turn around and kill me. I _like_ being a living dead person."

"But it'll be useless," Elena said. "Bonnie can take its power away."

"I don't trust her," Damon shot back.

"I can take away the original spell," Bonnie stated matter of factly. Damon could tell the witch didn't want to be there any more than he did.

"John and Isobel will never know," Elena said in her best persuasive tone.

Damon shook his head. "No. No, I'll get Jeremy my own way."

"Really?" Stefan asked. "How are you gonna do that? Because Isobel is a vampire. And Jeremy could be dead the second you walk in the door."

Damon ignored Stefan and turned to the witch. "Are you even up for this? I mean, you're no Emily Bennett. Emily knew what she was doing."

"I've been practicing," Bonnie said confidently.

"It's not piano lessons, honey."

Bonnie stood and took a step toward him. "What's your favorite book?"

"What?" Damon scoffed.

"Name a book. Any book."

Damon thought for a second. "Name a book." _This is a complete waste of time._ "How about_ Call of the Wild_ by Jack London?"

Bonnie turned toward to bookcase. In seconds, book was flying across the room. Damon caught it. "Jack London." He tossed the book away. "Great parlor trick."

Elena stepped in. "We're doing this, Damon. And we're gonna do it my way. Now give me the device." Damon stared at her for a few long seconds. Every instinct told him this was a very bad idea. "We're wasting time," Elena pleaded.

Damon tried one last tack. He looked at Bonnie. "I don't trust you. I tried to kill you."

"Hm, you're right. You can't trust me," the witch shot back.

"But you can trust me," Elena said. And that was it really. Elena's trust. He trusted her in a way he hadn't trusted anyone since he'd become a vampire. He couldn't deny her. Not when she looked at him that way. So despite it going against every instinct he had, Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out the device. He placed it in Elena's outstretched hand, closing her fingers around it and squeezing her hand.

"Thank you," Elena said.

Elena and Bonnie cleared the table in front of the fireplace so that Bonnie could work her hocus pocus to make the gizmo useless. Damon stood on one side of the room, while Elena and Stefan remained on the other side. Damon still didn't trust the witch; he wanted to watch the de-mojoing for himself. In the candlelight, Bonnie levitated the device. The candles and fireplace flared brightly for a few seconds. Damon saw Stefan squeeze Elena's shoulder out of the corner of his eye, but he pretended not to notice. The flames returned to normal and the device returned to the tabletop.

"Done," Bonnie announced.

"Great," Damon said. "Now what?"

Elena answered him. "Now we give it to Isobel."

Elena was to meet Isobel in the town square. Damon was not surprised when Stefan insisted on going with her. He was surprised when Elena asked him to be there as well. He'd already planned on going, but he appreciated Elena's effort to include him, much to Stefan's chagrin. The brothers were standing just out of sight when Isobel met Elena in the square. Elena stood her ground with Isobel, demanding to know where her brother was before giving Isobel the device.

Damon heard Isobel say, "Do you think I came alone?" Her two minions appeared out of the shadows behind Elena.

Elena didn't hesitate. "Do you really think _I_ came alone?" On cue, Damon and Stefan took their places behind Isobel. Now everyone's cards were on the table. Damon kept a careful watch on Elena through out her exchange with Isobel. His eyes widened when his name came up.

"But you took a risk with Damon," Elena said. "How did you know he was going to give it to me?"

"Because he's in love with you," Isobel replied.

Elena looked stunned. Damon immediately glanced over at Stefan, who had heard Isobel just as clearly as he had. Stefan had his eyes closed, whether in resignation or dejection Damon couldn't tell. Damon himself didn't know what to think. Was he really in love with Elena? His brother's girlfriend? Was this happening again? _This can't be happening. Not again._ But deep down, Damon knew it was the truth. He was in love with Elena Gilbert and his life would never be the same. Damon was so caught up in his thoughts he almost missed Isobel's parting words for Elena.

"As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart. She got out. But we all know you're not Katherine."

Once Isobel had gone, Stefan immediately went to a visibly upset Elena. Damon watched as Stefan gathered Elena into his arms and held her. He just couldn't tear his eyes away, even though it hurt to see her take comfort in the arms of his brother. Elena glanced over at him and held his gaze for a long second. Then she buried her head deeper into Stefan's shoulder. Damon knew it was time to go. With a final glance at Stefan, Damon turned and walked away.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for Stefan to turn up for the inevitable confrontation. Damon could feel his brother coming as he reached for the decanter. "Would you like one?" Damon asked, pouring himself a drink. "Say it. Whatever it is. _Purge_. Get it out."

"It's about what Isobel said," Stefan said. Damon could tell Stefan was trying his best to be reasonable.

"What about it?" Damon asked, as he turned to face his brother.

"Well, I know that you and Elena have bonded. And I know she cares about you. And I know you care about her."

Damon smiled. "Well, this is going in an _interesting_ direction."

"I'm just concerned about Elena being hurt. She considers you a friend."

"Same here. Elena's a very good friend. Actually she might qualify as my only…friend. Is that a problem?" Damon asked, trying not to sound smug.

Stefan considered him. "So at the risk of sounding like a um…like a jealous boyfriend…"

"There's no risk. You do."

Stefan's tone was serious. "History will not be repeating itself, where Elena's concerned. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Sure," Damon replied, turning away. "Sure."

Stefan was already in front of him. "Do. You. Understand."

Damon stepped back, trying to get some distance between himself and Stefan. "Whatever you say, man. I mean, honestly, we're just friends." Put on the defensive, Damon decided to drop his bombshell. He continued, "And as her friend I wasn't looking forward to telling her the truth anyway. So I'll just let you do it."

"What truth?" Stefan asked.

"About John. Cause I know you guys don't like to keep secrets from each other," Damon answered, reveling in the irony. Stefan was the biggest secret keeper Damon knew.

"What are you talking about?"

"Am I the only one around here who has the ability to put two and two together? Isobel. _Hello?_ She dated John when she was fifteen. She gets pregnant. And ends up at the doctor's office of John's brother. What do you think John's role was in all this? I mean, go ahead, think about it. I'll wait."

"So you think that John is Elena's father?"

"Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding," Damon said.

Stefan still didn't look convinced. "What proof do you have?"

"I don't need any proof. That's a DNA test for Elena, John and Maury Povich to deal with. But I know how well you deal with these big bombshells. So…sleep tight." Damon started to head for the stairs, and then he turned back to Stefan. "Oh and when you do tell Elena and she needs a friend to talk to about _anything_, I'm here for her."

As Damon left, he couldn't help but think, _may the best man win_.


End file.
